CIA could face prosecution due to U.S. drone raids in Pakistan

Officers for the Central Intelligence Agency may face legal action from Pakistani authorities because of attacks by United States unmanned aerial vehicles.

U.S. drone in action

U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson

Due to the U.S. government’s refusal to offer legal grounds for the CIA’s drone raids in Pakistan, many CIA officers may face prosecution for war crimes, according to AFP. Since the U.S. President was elected more than one year ago, military drone bombings have increased in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Many important officials in the international community are impatient with Washington ignoring the denouncement of the CIA’s bombing raids in Pakistan, Afghanistan and other parts of the world, reports Press TV.

U.S. State Department lawyers and members of other government agencies worry that the Obama administration has not stated a rationale for the drone strikes but Kenneth Anderson, a law professor at American University, told a congressional panel on Tuesday that drone attacks are legal under international law.

The law professor urges the administration to make its case publicly.

“Now, maybe the answer is: This is all really terrible and illegal and anybody that does it should go off to the Hague. But if that's the case, then we should not be having the president saying that this is the greatest thing since whatever. That seems like a bad idea,” said Anderson.

The drone attacks have enraged Pakistani citizens and its government because hundreds of civilians have been killed due to the UAVs.